Two-hundred and sixty-six days earlier, Lamar Jackson pulled off late-game heroics, and Tyler Loop missed right. The Steelers went to the playoffs. Jackson, freezing and disbelieving, exited quietly.
"We did all that to come up short," Jackson said, trying to hide his true emotions with a smile. I thought we had it in the bag. I don't know what else we can do." All they could do was keep coming back, keep working, keep putting themselves in winning positions and hope those devastating losses would become elating wins.
Sunday, that was the case. Jackson delivered a 27-yard dime to Zay Flowers with one second left, and Loop nailed a 56-yarder to beat the Cowboys 34-31 in steamy Rio de Janeiro. Cue a team-wide celebration, Ravens players streaming across the famed Maracanã Stadium to lift their kicker on their shoulders, Jackson screaming "Let's go!" the entire way.
TYLER LOOP WINS IT FOR THE RAVENS pic.twitter.com/fqMQ09xGYI Since 2022, the Ravens have lost 10 games in which they led by eight or more points in the second half, most in the NFL. In several key junctures, his game looked like it would be the 11th -- and second in as many weeks. Crucial failure to convert late?
After the Cowboys cut Baltimore's lead to three, the Ravens embarked on a long drive, only for Derrick Henry to get stuffed on fourth-and-goal from the Dallas 1-yard line. After that stop, the Cowboys went 96 yards in seven plays, with CeeDee Lamb and Dak Prescott igniting the drive with a 49-yard connection and KaVontae Turpin finishing it with a 9-yard touchdown. The Ravens, now trailing afterleading by as much as 11, went three and out.
The script was writing itself: The Ravens were going to let another game slip. NFL ON CBS color commentator JJ Watt even said Ravens defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver told him the Ravens' late-game losses were their "boogeyman." Jackson late-game heroics? He scrambled 17 yards on the opening play of the drive, later converted a third-and -10 to Mark Andrews and found Flowers for 14 yards to move the chains on two separate occasions.
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